Houston ISD could soon require schools to keep medicine and trained staff on campus to reverse opioid overdoses, amid a recent rise in drug-related youth deaths and hospitalizations in Harris County.
Houston ISD’s state-appointed board is scheduled to vote Thursday on a new policy that requires each of the district’s roughly 270 schools to keep at least two active doses of an “opioid antagonist,” such as Narcan, on campus, with at least one staff member trained to administer it.
The medicine, which is given through a nasal spray or EpiPen-like injection, can quickly help people whose breathing has slowed down or stopped during an overdose. Health professionals say it can be the difference between life and death, giving emergency responders time to transport patients to a hospital.
HISD’s proposed policy comes in response to a 2023 state law that required school districts to have at least one staff member trained to deliver the medicine on any campus serving students in grades six through 12. Each of Houston’s other largest school districts — Cypress-Fairbanks, Katy, Conroe and Fort Bend — have already adopted policies to comply with the law.